Arcane Missiles
Arcane Missiles is a channeled mage spell that shoots a series of missiles at the target, one each second over a period of time, dealing direct arcane damage. Rank table *1. Arcane Missiles (Rank 8) can also be trained from , a drop from bosses in the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj raid instance. *2. Arcane Missiles (Rank 11) is documented by the Major WoW item websites. It is also mentioned in Blizzard's 2.1.0 Patch Notes under changes to the Mage class. However, it is currently unknown how this spell can be obtained by a Mage. There is some plausible speculation it may be from a tome dropped from a raid instance like the Rank 8 tome, although Blizzard had mentioned that they did not intend to use this method anymore to obtain spells. Talent improvements The Improved Arcane Missiles talent will reduce the chance that damage taken will interrupt channeling. At max rank, Arcane Missiles will never be interrupted by damage. The Empowered Arcane Missiles talent will increase the amount of spell damage that applies to Arcane Missiles, but increases its mana cost. The Arcane Subtlety talent will reduce the amount of threat caused by Arcane Missiles, and Arcane Focus will reduce the chance that the spell is resisted. As with all mage spells capable of critical hits Arcane Instability, Arcane Potency, Arcane Power, Spell Power, Molten Fury, Playing with Fire and Shatter can increase the effective damage output of this spell. Notes While you stand and channel, Arcane Missiles launches bolts of arcane energy at your target, dealing the given damage each second. Unlike other channeled spells, each second (or "tick") is considered a separate direct damage missile which passes through the normal direct damage checks (crit, resistance). Furthermore, both the initial cast of Arcane Missiles and each Missile are considered spell hits, resulting in a maximum amount of 6 hits per cast. Like all channeled spells, the mana is deducted before channeling starts, so the full cost is paid regardless of how many missiles are actually launched or needed before the spell is interrupted or the target is dead. Tips and tactics Though a powerful spell, Arcane Missiles is often overlooked by many players due to its many weaknesses. Primarily, it is very mana-inefficient. Unlike all other mage spells, the full mana cost is used at the beginning of the spell, as opposed to when the spell is actually cast. Thus, if you cancel the spell halfway through or are silenced or counter spelled, you pay for the full cost of the spell, despite the fact that you only output half the damage. Another large disadvantage of the spell is that it requires you to stay in one space for the 5 second duration, making you a sitting duck in PvP (well, a sitting duck that's shooting very large amounts of damage at its enemies, anyways) and keeping you from gaining space between you and your enemies. With the right talents, however, Arcane Missiles can be quite devastating. Properly specialized, this is one of the mage's best DPS single-target spells. With Arcane Subtlety, it also has a very generous damage to threat ratio. A full talent upgrade makes it uninterruptable by regular damage, though abilities like Kick and Shield Bash will still stop the casting. It also receives 142% of your bonus spelldamage (and as high as 188% with Empowered Arcane Missiles). An often overlooked PvP benefit is the rapid speed with which it hits opponents causes regular spell interruption. Between this and Slow, an Arcane mage can make it exceedingly difficult for an enemy player to get off spells with a cast time. Another helpful talent is Arcane Concentration. A common tactic in groups when so talented is to cast a fast, cheap spell (like Scorch or an upgraded Frostbolt) until clearcasting is achieved, then cast a free Arcane Missiles. A notable effect of the fact is that "on spell hit" abilities, such as Mark of Defiance, can proc off each missile, similar to "on spell crit" abilities. However, "on spell cast" abilities, such as Mystical Skyfire Diamond, only have a chance to proc on each casting of the spell, not on each bolt. Known bugs There is a bug that prevents base mana regeneration when using the Clearcasting effect for Arcane Missiles. Past changes References Category:Mage abilities Category:Arcane spells